Catgirls are a long-standing staple of comics, manga,anime, and cheap Halloween costumes. While they are often seen as a pillar of fringe pop culture, they are almost absent from other media, most noticeably from literature and cinema. Video games are a unique case in this debate, neither fully conquered by, nor outright hostile, to catgirls.
Video games never bought into the classic wholesome catgirl stereotype. Still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any iconic long-eared, fluffy-tailed ladies in games, even if the featuredanthropomorphic girlsmight not be in line with players’ expectations.
6Lethe – Fire Emblem
Some of the time, Lethe is a plain example of a catgirl, an open-and-shut case. The rest of the time, she’s just a cat. She’s a Laguz, a shape-shifter that retains some of her animal characteristics even when in human form.
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Her two mainline appearances, inPath of RadianceandRadiant Dawn,paint her as a strong-willed warrior and the proud commander of her tribe. Her personality is quite unique for this sort of character, but this only goes to show that there is more to a catgirl than her pointy ears, fluffy tail, and oversized collar and bells.
5Faris – Steins;Gate
Admittedly, Faris isn’t really a catgirl. She’s what we call a human-girl, or Girl for short, who happens to work at acatgirl-themed maid café. She is also a little obsessed with being perceived as cute, which is to be expected. Faris is the owner of the cat café where she works, and is a fundamental steppingstone to the moe-ization of the canonical timeline ofSteins;Gate.
Even though she isn’t what most people usually call a catgirl, this apparent weakness (being human) is actually her biggest strength. She might not have pointed ears or a fluffy tail, but she has the determination that natural catgirls tend to lack. She is also extremely wealthy, which probably helps.
4Blaze the Cat – Sonic The Hedgehog
Blaze isn’t the only cat in theSonic the Hedgehogseries, nor is she the most iconic; that honor belongs to Big the Cat. What Blaze can be said to be is a cat, and a girl: a catgirl, if on a purely technical basis. She mostly appears in minor titles and racing games, so she’s most remembered as the protagonist of a rare good scene inSonic (2006), sacrificing herself midway through White’s story.
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Blaze isn’t just a catgirl. Even if she isn’t part of the core cast of the Sonic series, her design is just as iconic, with a striking purple-on-white color scheme and a tragic backstory to boot. She’s also one of the (very few) consistent characters outside Sonic’s main crew, thanks to her well-defined, kind but detached, personality.
3Ms. Fortune – Skullgirls
Looking more like an actual tiger than an anime girl pretending to be a cat, Nadia Fortune errs towards the wild side of the catgirl world. Even then, her appearance features widely recognizable catgirl symbols such as a big collar bell, long canines, and no visible body hair.
Ms. Fortune isn’t like any common catgirl. While most cats only have nine lives at most, Fortune is near-immortal and often demonstrates her ability by detaching her own limbs and head. As a member of the originallineup ofSkullgirlsfighters, her playstyle is what really sets her apart from the mold. Not many cats can be seen using their own tail as a blade or extending their muscles to hit distant foes, though not that many cats can be said to have foes, either.
2Ankha – Animal Crossing
Ankha first appeared inDoubutsu no Mori+, a Japan-only GameCube port and expansion of the original Animal Crossing, complete with extra features and a couple new characters, including Ankha herself. Most fans know her from appearance in later games. Even if she didn’t make the cut forAnimal Crossing: Wild World, she is now one of the most popular villagers in the series.
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Given her snobbish, sometimes mean personality, it’s a mystery why so many players took a liking to her. It might be her unique appearance, her stylish house, or maybe something else. Whichever it may be, as the secondmost popular character of theAnimal Crossingseries, Ankha is certainly a challenger for the title of best catgirl in video games.
1Miqo’te – Final Fantasy XIV
It’s true what they say: if you want something done right, you better do it yourself. That’s why the best catgirl in video gamesisn’t an NPC: it’s the player themself. A playable race in the MMORPGFinal Fantasy XIV, playing as a Miqo’te unlocks the true potential that catgirls always had in the medium of video games: enhanced reality catgirls. Though similar to the Mithras race ofFinal Fantasy XI,Final Fantasy XIVdared to go where no one had gone before, introducing much of the gaming world to male anthropomorphic cats, or catboys (and more recentlybunny-boys).
Often a catgirl is just a normal girl, fictional or not, armed with cat ears, a collar, and a great deal of self-esteem. The Miqo’te do the unthinkable and make the act of being a catgirl accessible to anyone lacking either prerequisite. Any and all players that choose to play as a catgirl inFinal Fantasy XIVhave something that the other cats will never have. For this, they are the best of all virtual catgirls.
